The following message was emailed to all parents / carers on 23 August 2021:
We are now less than two weeks away from the start of the new academic year and as D-Day draws closer we wanted to update you on the COVID arrangements for September.
History tells us that new COVID rules are sprung onto schools in the last couple of days before any return, and who knows how things will develop through the winter, but we can be sure that most of what we say here will apply.
Previous Outlined Arrangements:
The first stop would be to recap on what we told you on 15 July about the staggered return to school, the COVID requirements, school arrangements, etc.
Hopefully you have had enough summer fun to have forgotten some of it so a refresh now will help to focus minds on ‘Back to School’.
These details can be re-visited on this link: https://www.friaryschool.co.uk/2021/07/15/the-friary-school-end-of-term-update-2-15-july-2021/.
Return to School:
Sixth Form:
Sixth Form students come into school on Wednesday 1 September for a COVID test between 12.00-3.00pm and report to the Sports Hall via the Library gates.
Sixth Form students come into school between 2.00-3.00 on Thursday 2 September and report to the theatre via main reception.
Sixth Form students come into school for a normal school day on Friday 3 September and report to their tutor room.
Year 7:
Year 7 students come into school on Thursday 2 September between 9.15am-3.05pm and report to the theatre via main reception.
Year 7 students come into school for a normal school day on Friday 3 September and report to their tutor room.
Year 10 & Year 11:
Year 10 & Year 11 students come into school for a normal school day on Friday 3 September and report to their tutor room.
Year 8 & Year 9:
Year 8 & Year 9 students come into school for a normal school day on Monday 6 September and report to their tutor room.
Tutor Rooms for 2021-2022:
The following tutor rooms have been allocated for the next academic year:
Year 7 – 7D1 = U7 / 7D2 = U8 / 7G1 = G5 / 7G2 = W9 / 7J1 = W4 / 7J2 = W5 / 7S1 = S5 / 7S2 = S8
Year 8 – 8D1 = U9 / 8D2 = M1 / 8G1 = G6 / 8G2 = S2 / 8J1 = W3 / 8J2 = W2 / 8S1 = G7 / 8S2 = S4
Year 9 – 9D1 = U5 / 9D2 = F1/ 9G1 = U4/ 9G2 = U2/ 9J1 = W7 / 9J2 = U3 / 9S1 = F2 / 9S2 = M4
Year 10 – 10D1 = M2 / 10D2 = W6 / 10G1 = G4 / 10G2 G2= / 10J1 = W1 / 10J2 = S3 / 10S1 = S1 / 10S2 = S7
Year 11 – 11D1 = F4 / 11D2 = U6 / 11G1 = C6 / 11G2 = G3 / 11J1 = F3 / 11J2 = W10 / 11S1 = C7/ 11S2 = S6
Sixth Form – C6D1 = C2 / C6D2 = U1 / C6G1 = C5 / C6G2 = C9 / C6J1 = C10 / C6J2 = C1 / C6S1 = C4 / C6S2 = C3
Updated Arrangements:
Personal Health & Hygiene :
We will continue to encourage hand-washing and will maintain our hand-sanitisers. However, we would encourage all parents to repeat this mantra at home and ideally provide personal hand sanitiser where possible.
Similarly, we would encourage parents to provide tissues for their child and spell out the ‘Catch It, Bin It, Kill It’ message.
Finally, it is important to remember that COVID has not gone away and symptoms should still be watched out for and tests taken if there are any doubts.
An up-to-date reminder of COVID symptoms can be seen here:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/symptoms/main-symptoms/.
School Transport:
Government advice still recommends that facemasks are worn in enclosed and crowded spaces and this includes school transport. However, it is not a statutory requirement and it contradicts the guidance which says face masks are essentially not required in schools.
We cannot supervise the school buses throughout their journey so we would say this call rests with you as parents.
Parents in School:
Our Parents Evenings will remain virtual after the overwhelming feedback you gave us on our consultation. However, there will still be be plenty of other opportunities to come into school and they can be seen on the school website: https://www.friaryschool.co.uk/calendar/. This includes Partnership Evenings, ACE Meeting and school events.
The obvious guidance is not to visit our school if you are showing symptoms and to apply the personal hygiene measures outlined.
COVID Isolations:
We will no longer be calling you to say that your child has to isolate. This will now solely be operated by NHS Track & Trace.
In fact, all Friary students will no longer be required isolated. Instead, if they are contacted by NHS Track & Trace, they will be simply advised to take a PCR test (not the tests we give you) to check if they are positive.
Contact Details:
We would ask all parents to update their contact details if things change; whether it be addresses, phone numbers, or email addresses. It is vital we can get messages to you – whether it be a COVID issue, an accident or whatever.
Equally, if your child’s medical conditions change then it is useful for us to be made aware.
We would also encourage you to re-visit EduLink – the app we set-up last term – before the new term so you are familiar with it before your child starts accruing House points.
Contingency Plans:
Government guidance is clear that we have to be ready to move back towards more intrusive COVID measures.
Most parents will be aware of our arrangements for home learning, safe-and-well checks, etc, but if the very worst happens, and we end up back in that place, then we will brief everyone fully so new parents aren’t playing guess-work.
Matt Allman, Headteacher, added: “Hopefully, this message – and the link to the earlier end of term message – will cover all details and there will be no last-minute surprises that necessitate further contact. If you do have any further queries please direct them to office@friaryschool.co.uk and we will get back to you as soon as we can. Lastly, enjoy the remainder of the summer – despite the glum weather – and see you in September.”
